The Other Side of Things

00:00 Intro
06:04 How we met and how he finally published his book
07:30 Madness and Alternative states of reality
11:00 Mad in America and Others Stories
13:04 A Fight To Be - his book
14:07 Ron's 23rd Birthday in the Psych Ward
16:26 "You don't look schizophrenic."
17:00 Auntie Ray, Ron's Mentor
17:33 Fugitive Literature
18:28 Insulin Shock
19:01 "Coming Out" as a psychiatric survivor AS a psychologist
19:51 Michael's Soulchosis at 18
22:00 Being a Double Agent
24:42 What is psychosis? 
27:12 Madness as a search 
29:37 Neurodiversity
33:37 Underworld Journey
34:27 Soul Initiations
40:00 Exquisite Sensitivity, Empathy and Intuition
41:11 Intuitive Feelers
42:32 Reliance on Feeling is discouraged in our culture
45:33 Ron's visit to a Zen Ashram
48:21 Working with Families - Ron's new project
49:00 Typical Trajectory of someone who may be headed towards psychosis
50:00 Importance of a supportive family
52:00 Open Dialogue
58:14 The problem with trying to control what isn't controllable
1:06:00 Each person is on their own journey
1:10:00 Jesus vs Christ Consciousness
1:11:51 What truly heals?
1:12:00 Don't Push the River and Windhorse
1:17:00 The Ocean, The Mystic, The Madman and Swimming Lessons
1:19:00 Mind Freedom
1:25:00 Hearing Voices Network
1:30:00 Mad Pride and David Oaks
1:35:00 Ron's current work

Ron is an amazing human being, a resilient soul and a true elder and wise sage.  We first met when a mutual friend of ours introduced us.  Ron had not published his moving and poignant book, "A Fight to Be: A Psychologist's Experience from Both Sides of the Locked Door," yet and I'm so honored that our connection helped encourage him to finally publish it.  It is a riveting story that moved me to my core, given that I have had friends and family members and my own experiences with extreme states of consciousness that I prefer to call soulchosis.

I've wanted to have Ron on for a long time and we both finally found time in both of our schedules for this deep dive into psychosis, madness and soulchosis! Ron is also involved in a new family oriented approach to helping those experiencing madness that draws from Open Dialogue a process that has eradicated hospitalizations for psychosis in Lapland.  

Ron's website: https://www.ronaldbassman.com/
Ron's book: https://www.amazon.com/Fight-Be-Ronald-Bassman/dp/0979626609
Mind Freedom's website: https://mindfreedom.org/
Hearing Voices network: https://www.hearing-voices.org/
Mad in America: https://www.madinamerica.com/

What is The Other Side of Things?

No one knows everything, but everyone knows something no one else knows.

We live in an age of extremes, where certainty is prized and nuance is often lost. Yet life happens mostly in the in-between—in the twilight places where opposites find relationship, where identities soften, difference is honored and where deeper truths emerge organically.

On The Other Side of Things is an exploration of these liminal realms. Drawing from psychology, mythology, spirituality, creativity, nature, and lived experience, Michael invites listeners into The Way of Twilight: a path that neither rejects mystery nor abandons reason, but allows both to illuminate one another.

Together we explore the thresholds between worlds, perspectives, and ways of knowing, seeking a form of wisdom spacious enough to hold contradiction, complexity, and wonder - particularly on difficult topics like death, madness and intimacy.

This is a podcast for curious souls who sense that reality is always larger than our explanations of it—and that the deepest insights are often found on the other side of what we think we know.